Byron Dorgan: “I must confess, however, that I come to the Senate with a different position on this issue. I want to explain why I have…”

“I must confess, however, that I come to the Senate with a different position on this issue. I want to explain why I have reached that position. I must confess, also, that I am not someone who considers himself an expert in foreign policy. There are some--only a handful of Members here in the Senate--who spend a great deal of their time thinking about and working on foreign policy issues. I have great respect for them. But I don't consider myself a part of that group of Senate foreign policy experts. But all of us in the Senate have some acquaintance with the questions that are presented to us on issues of international policy. And NATO expansion is one such issue. Indeed, as I indicated yesterday, it is a 'legislative main course.' NATO expansion is a very significant matter for this country and for many other countries in the world that are affected. One of those countries is Russia. Russia is an important part of our future, and our relationship with Russia will have a significant impact on the future of everyone in this country.”